Charles's economic policy Flashcards
what was the most pressing issue for Charles during his personal rule?
-raising money.
how much money did the royal household account for every year?
-260,000 which was about 40% of the Kings income.
how did weston raise money for Charles?
-distraint of knighthood
-changes to royal forest
-wardship
how did the distraint of the knighthood raise money?
-in theory every man with an income of over £40 were supposed to be knighted at the coronation this practice had fallen out of use and therefore many men could be fined for failing to show their support
-by the end of the 1630’s had raised about 170,000.
how did forest laws raise money for Charles?
-the boundaries of the royal forests were declared during the reign of Henry II
-large numbers of people suddenly found out they were in a royal forest and were then fined.
how much money did wardship bring in?
-extra 50,000
how did monopolies earn Charles money?
-exploited a loophole in the 1624 statute of monopolies which enabled him to grant monopolies to companies just not individuals.
-monopoly on the sale and production of soap was particularly unpopular
-popish soap brought in 29,000 per year by 1636.
what is ship money?
-a nonparliamentary tax first levied in medieval times by the English crown on coastal cities and counties for naval defence in time of war.
-by 1635 was extended to cover the whole country and demanded each year until 1640
what was the impact of ship money?
-initially successful as it meant that 190,000 was raised per year and the non-payment was low at 2.5% in the first 3 years.
-more people affected by it at 14,000.
-methods of assessing and collecting the tax gave rise to opposition and the sheriff was personally responsible for collecting it for his county and placed him with a heavy burden and some were still trying to collect it after the terms in office were over.
what was Hampden’s case?
-John Hampden, member of the Buckingham gentry, refused to pay for Ship Money.
-brought to trial for refusal to pay and the judges split 5 for Hampden and 7 for Charles.
-moral victory for Hampden and undermined the legitimacy of ship money.
-in 1638 the amount collected fell by 20%.
how were the 1630’s?
-calm
-monarchy was solvent
-country was at peace
-king in excellent health with 5 heirs
how did Charles change the courts in 1640?
-allowing them to be debased into mere collectors of money.
-star court chamber Laud used it to enforce his unpopular church reforms.
